Endtroducing... Tracks Ranked
Excluding interlude tracks
Without a doubt one of my top 3 favorite albums of all time |
| 10 | DJ Shadow
Building Steam With A Grain of Salt
*prepares for pitchforks*
Although I've just stated this ranking is more a matter of opinion than actual quality, I know this is a fan favorite track. For me personally, this is my least favorite track on the album. On first listen it was incredible - don't get me wrong! It's just the only song on the album undeserving of its length. The little piano sample and backing vocals just get grating after listening to this album so many times - it feels rather lazy compared to a lot of the other work on this album.
Again, this is one of my favorite albums of all time, if not the top. This track is amazing, just my least favorite out all the available choices. This song has a lot of highlights, I know. |
| 9 | The Number Song
The more traditional hip-hop song on this album, this song feels like it was meant to show-case Shadow's DJ ability as it has the more recognizable samples on this album and is a high-speed jam battle between all sorts of exciting samples. This song sets up the stage for the rest of the album real well. |
| 8 | What Does Your Soul Look Like - Part 1 - Blue Sky Revisit
In my mind the album more or less is finished at Scatter Brain. This track serves as a nice epilogue that just vibes. I used to listen to this album a lot on the drives back from my girlfriend's dorm across state, and by the time the album was closing it had gotten dark. It was a beautiful blend, the sun setting and dusk arising with the pace of this album, which itself gets darker as the album progresses. The streak of Midnight, Napalm/Scatter, then this is one of my favorite 3 song streaks of all time. Each one of those songs in perfect late night drive music to me.
I find the sax from this song stuck playing in my head from time to time.
I probably should have ranked this song higher but it is pretty hard to rank this album - more or less a matter of opinion rather than actual quality. |
| 7 | Organ Donor
Less than 2 minutes long, this track doesn't overstay its welcome - which is great. If this were a blown up track the organ gimmick would get rather old, especially on repeated listens. This song is this albums "Any Colour You Like": it's short, a little gimmicky, but entirely unforgettable. |
| 6 | Stem/Long Stem
This song is more or less the overture of the entire album. It's quite dynamic and borrows riffs and bits from other songs on the album. The second half of the song makes up for this tracks near aimlessness. |
| 5 | Mutual Slump
I was a bjork fan long before I ever heard this album. The "Possibly Maybe" sample in this song (unlike a decent bit of samples on this album) is virtually unaltered. When you listen to this track and Possibly Maybe, it's obvious to spot (unlike the creative Metallica sample on this album), yet I really believe this song does it better. It makes the song. |
| 4 | Changeling
This one's up here for more or less the same reasons WDYSLL pt 4 is up here. All the samples compliment each other so perfectly, the backing strings enforce this "instant nostalgia" type feeling like with the first two tracks on this list, and is one of the few songs where I believe you can really feel what DJ Shadow was going through at this point of his life.
Also, the turntablism on this track is killer. |
| 3 | What Does Your Soul Look Like - Pt. 4
This song is so chill. The mesh of the bass and the cymbals and effects makes me bob my head slightly up and down and want to drive down an infinite road. The mix is so astounding it's really hard to believe it's all composed of samples. Everything fits together perfectly. |
| 2 | Napalm Brain / Scatter Brain
A very close second. This song could have easily been the closer. It builds and builds with insatiable breakbeat and is, IMO, the climax of the album. |
| 1 | Midnight In A Perfect World
Obvious answer, this song is its own & nothing else sounds quite like it nor has the impact. This album (may it be the sampling or whatnot), gives off a sense of "instant nostalgia" I can't put my finger on. This song portrays this vibe the most. |
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